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with bated breath

with bate breath
W w

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [with, with beyt breth]
    • /wɪθ, wɪð beɪt brɛθ/
    • /wɪð ˈbeɪ.tɪd breθ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [with, with beyt breth]
    • /wɪθ, wɪð beɪt brɛθ/

Definitions of with bated breath words

  • verb with object with bated breath to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm. 1
  • verb with object with bated breath to lessen or diminish; abate: setbacks that bated his hopes. 1
  • verb without object with bated breath to diminish or subside; abate. 1
  • idioms with bated breath with bated breath, with breath drawn in or held because of anticipation or suspense: We watched with bated breath as the runners approached the finish line. 1
  • phrase with bated breath If you wait for something with bated breath, you wait anxiously to find out what will happen. 0
  • noun with bated breath holding one's breath in suspense or fear 0
See all 7 definitions of with bated breath

Information block about the term

Origin of with bated breath

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
1250-1300; Middle English, aphetic variant of abate

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for With bated breath

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of With bated breath

with bated breath popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 86% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

with bated breath usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for with bated breath

adj with bated breath

  • breathless — If you are breathless, you have difficulty in breathing properly, for example because you have been running or because you are afraid or excited.

adjective with bated breath

  • anticipating — to realize beforehand; foretaste or foresee: to anticipate pleasure.
  • expectant — Having or showing an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something pleasant and interesting.
  • waiting — an act or instance of waiting or awaiting; delay; halt: a wait at the border.

adverb with bated breath

All 5 Synonyms of with bated breath

See also

Matching words

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